When All Lights Go Out I (TFP)

Chapter 6

Azura was a little surprised that she would have an appointment this soon. "Huh...I thought I would not have one for another week." She shrugged and grabbed the wheels of the chair and rolled herself over to her bookshelf. "If we can't go for a drive..." She pulled out a Chess board and sat it on her lap. "We play Chess. It was one of the few games we were allowed to play. I could teach you."

"The pieces in that game are too small," Cliff said as he looked at her in surprise. "Anyway, I'll go and ask the boss if we can go, and I'll come back to give you the answer of what he says." The bot walked away the doors closed behind him.

"I suppose the pieces are small..." Azura wheeled herself over to an empty table and pulled out the board and pieces. Bee watched curiously and she looked at him. "You could lay on your stomach, that might make it a bit easier to play. I can teach you how to play."

Bee looked at the board curiously as she set up the pieces. "Cliff is right though...those are small pieces. Though...I had wondered what Monopoly is like." She gave him a surprised expression and chuckled at him. "I guess that sounds weird to you. But if you can teach me the basics of the game of chess..." The bot moved to lay on his chassis, looking at the board curiously. "I might be able to play. Though I will try not to mess things up with my fingers. They are a lot bigger than yours."

Azura chuckled at him and she began to explain to him how the game is played, along with explaining how each pieces work and what the end game of Chess is. She did tell him that Chess can be a mind challenging game too, as one has to work out what the other's next move is going to be. Bumblebee didn't get how that was, but she told him that was how Poker was a lot of the time. And Bee was interested in that as well, though Azura told him it was best not to since it was a game she did not have at this time. And it was a gambling game too.

Once he understood how to play, Azura began to play the game with him. Bumblebee was still nervous about knocking over the Chess pieces, though he worked out how to pick up the pieces without knocking them after a few minutes and he quickly became invested in the game. And Azura really enjoyed spending time with him.

"Did you really have no friends at the school you went to?" Bumblebee asked as he moved one of his pawns on the board, looking at Azura who frowned a little when asked about it. "Are human children really that cruel that they would make fun of another kid without a parent?"

Azura did not know how to respond to Bee. "Well...you are not wrong that kids can be cruel. Some kids are cruel to others because of their parent's income. Or on the way they look. It just happens." She moved her knight to a place on the board. "I did have friends when I was younger, only until they realized I was an orphan when I couldn't go with them to their house or let them come to mine. I thought that would not have mattered. But it seemed to, and everyone in the school soon knew I was an orphan. And no adults stood up for me."

Bee looked at her sadly before his optics light up. "If anyone ever causes you trouble at the new school, you let us know, Azura. Cliff and I are your friends, and I know that we both can help to make sure you feel like you are not alone anymore."

"Thanks, Bee. Though..." Azura took a deep breath as Bee moved his knight next, knocking one of her pieces out of the game. "I will admit, ever since I met you all, it feels like I surrounded by people I have known before. It might seem strange, I know, but that is how I feel."

"Really?" Bee definitely thought that was strange as she admited that. "How strange. I am afraid I cannot help with that. I am not a medic like Ratchet who can figure that out. Though maybe because you have held onto that crystal since you were a baby, the aura that it gives off is similar to ours." He shrugged a little as he contemplated that idea. "I am unsure though...that is just a theory."